Supramolecular dissipative self‐assembly systems: Approaches and applications

Abstract

AbstractDissipative self‐assembly (DSA) system requires a continuous supply of fuels to maintain the far‐from‐equilibrium assembled state. Living organisms exist and operate far from the thermodynamic equilibrium by continuous consumption of energy taken from the surroundings, so how to realize the construction of the artificial DSA system has attracted much attention by researchers all over the world. Owing to dynamic controllable noncovalent interactions, artificial supramolecular DSA systems have achieved higher functions fueled by various types of energy, such as chemical fuels, light, electric energy, acoustic energy, and mechanical energy. Upon the input of external fuels, nonactive precursors can be activated to form building blocks at higher energy levels and then self‐assemble into transient supramolecular structures. As the proceeding of deactivation reaction, the building blocks with higher energy level dissipate back to the initial precursors, resulting in the disassembly process, to complete a full cycle. In this review, we summarize the recent advances of artificial supramolecular DSA systems on its construction strategies and energy‐fueled regulation approaches. The applications of supramolecular DSA systems in luminescence modulating, information encryption, self‐regulating gels, drug delivery, and catalysis are also discussed. We hope that this review article will facilitate further understanding and development of DSA systems.